CHESAPEAKE -- It is every coach's dream to have his team playing its best ball in the postseason.
However, there are times that they will simply settle for the survive-and-advance method.
Chesapeake used the left arm of Allison Chapman to hold on late and defeat Portsmouth 3-2 in the Ohio Division III Section 2 championship game.
"We told them this is something we can't continue to do because whoever you play in the next round, because each one you advance, things are going to get tougher," Chesapeake coach Aaron Rice said.
Chapman gave up just two hits in the ballgame, but one was a leadoff single in the seventh that made things interesting.
After LaDonna Brady singled to left and a pinch runner stole second, Chapman fanned the next three batters to finish with 16 strikeouts and lift her team to victory.
Despite the loss, Portsmouth coach Joe Albrecht was ecstatic with his team's performance against the Panthers.
"She is a great pitcher, probably the best we've seen all year," Portsmouth coach Joe Albrecht said. "We hit the ball well though. I was tickled to death. This was the best defensive game we played all year."
After Chapman started the game by notching three consecutive swinging strikeouts, Chesapeake opened up a 2-0 lead following its first time to the plate.
Chapman led off with a single, stole second and scored on Nikki Lindsey's single before Shelby Pike's single and a walk to Sidney Boyle loaded the bases with no outs.
It appeared that the Panthers would break the game open early, but after Courtney Heffner's sacrifice fly scored Lindsey to make it 2-0, Portsmouth's Jordan Howell got a strikeout and a groundout to escape a potentially big inning.
Rice said he felt like his team relaxed after the hot start by Chapman and the offense.
"We came out and got off to a good start and it's almost like we thought we'd put it in cruise and let Alli take care of it and it would be okay," Rice said. "The thing I'm disappointed about most is that defensively, we had two or three plays to make behind (Chapman) and we didn't."
Defensive lapses by the Panthers helped Portsmouth cut the lead to 2-1 as confusion on the infield allowed Syndey Allen's pop-up to drop in between three players. Allen took advantage by stealing second and third before Emily Hopkins reached on an error to score Allen.
Chesapeake (16-7) seized the momentum right back in the bottom of the third when Boyle connected on a 1-0 pitch and sent it over the center field wall for her first home run of the season. After the game, Rice presented Boyle with the home run ball that proved to be the difference in the game.
"Sidney has done a great job for us all year," Rice said. "She came up with us in a spot where we weren't thinking we needed a home run to win this thing, but she does a really nice job in the No. 4 hole."
Portsmouth, which finished the season at 7-12, set the final score in the fifth inning when Crystal Carpenter laced an RBI triple to score Ajia Johnson, who had reached on Chesapeake's third error of the game. All three errors contributed to the Trojans' two runs in the game.
It was the final game for Albrecht, who will become athletic director at the school after 23 years of coaching softball and football.
PORTSMOUTH 001 010 0 -- 2 2 1
CHESAPEAKE 201 000 x -- 3 6 3
Howell and Kendall. Chapman and Heffner. Hitting: (P) Carpenter 3B, RBI. (C) Chapman 2-3, 2B; Boyle HR; Lindsey RBI; Heffner RBI.
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